Gimme a Hand, Hogwarts!
by Argentum Sol
Summary: Oh yeah! I'm back! Aren't you happy? This is a HPCCS. Please, don't leave. It's not too horrible. Just give it a try. You might like it. SS ET MD and stuff. It's pretty funny, I guess. I laughed.
1. A Prologue of Sorts

**Gimme a Hand, Hogwarts!**

**Chapter One: A Prologue of Sorts.**

I twitched.

I'd been doing that a lot lately. 

It was happening again. Why couldn't they leave me _alone_?

Someone was watching me. 

Three some ones. 

Count them. One. The Evil one. The one that screams "Impending Doom! Danger! Danger". The One that made me shudder. The One that made me twitch.

The second is the oddest. I'm not scared of it; I have a feeling that it means no harm but it's the actual aura that has me sort of spooked. It was _silver_, which was something I'd never encountered before. Kero had once told me that no Sorcerer ever had a Silver aura. Something about the subconscious urge to flaunt their power. So then why did I suddenly encounter one that didn't have that urge?

The third is familiar, but, as is often the case, I haven't the faintest idea how I know it. The aura of it was a multitude of colours, indicating that many people performing the same spell were watching me. The only time I had encountered anything like it was when Eriol had decided that a great way to spend the afternoon would be to suffocate me in auras. I was still pretty amateur at that point, so I almost passed out before Eriol had been nagged sufficiently by Tomoyo and released the spell. Eriol had taken it upon himself to train me after that, seeing as he was, in a way, my half father.

Training sessions had been rough, and Eriol had the tendency to pop a test in the middle of class, or while I was having dinner. This meant that even attempting to keep my magic from my father and brother was out of the question. Touya had taken it in stride (I think he'd already guessed, and I assume that this was severely helped by Kero screaming at his video games.) My Father had been shocked, but can you blame him? He accepted it more as I explained to him about my card capturing days ("Oh, I thought you were running off in the middle of the night to meet a boy and have a secret childish love affair with him," to which I blushed and Touya went into hysterics and screamed, "Damn Gaki!" for a while.)

That should be a fair indication that my life is far from normal.

I was currently lying in my room, on the floor, trying to hear my father and brother through the floor. They had tired of my constant convulsing and had sent me to my bedroom. Kero, of course, remained downstairs, deciding that food won over any loyalty he had to me. 

Kero's the same as always. Food is all that matters, and if 'that stinking gaki' ever returns, he'll be in for a wallop. Kero had been less involved now that Card capturing was over. He prefers to sit back and watch me grow up, playing one or two video games in the process, of course. 

I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. Tomoyo was the same, only older. She'd managed to tone down her obsession with recording me by turning her affections (and Camera lens) in Eriol's direction. Eriol is her willing Guinea Pig and boyfriend. He even puts up with modeling her clothes every so often, and if that isn't a sign of loyalty, I don't know what it is. A sign of fear, perhaps. 

Eriol's residence varies from time to time. For the majority, he stays here in Tomodea, with his guardians, Nakuru and Spinel Sun. He bought a new house, since his old one got demolished. He sued the council for that. Apparently, they weren't aware that anyone had lived in the house for years, they'd checked for the necessary documents and found none at the time, but the papers had all appeared in court. Eriol had made them build him a new house. Predictably, it was closer to Tomoyo's house. 

Eriol had settled into life here quite nicely. 

Chiharu, Yamazaki, Naoko and Rika are fine, but they're all showing signs of going their own ways. Next year, when she turns sixteen, Rika's getting married to Terada-sensei. They're both ecstatic that it's finally happening. Rika hasn't been able to shut up about it since God-knows-when. We've all been invited, of course. They even sent out an invitation to Syaoran, though we're doubtful he ever received it. 

Chiharu and Yamazaki are going out. It was bound to happen sooner or later, says Tomoyo, the relationship expert. They made an agreement before they went out: That if Yamazaki cut down on the lies, Chiharu would buy a softer Mallet. It's worked out great. Yamazaki even likes being hit now. 

And Naoko, our adorable Naoko, is putting the finishing touches on her first Novel. She only has to make a few editing changes and then it'll be published. She's one of the youngest in the industry, so she had a little trouble with getting a company to publish it. It's an amazing book though. She even dedicated it to us all. Yamazaki, Chiharu, Tomoyo, Eriol, me and…

Syaoran.

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't think about him. I do it constantly, occasionally just because it annoys Kero and Touya and occasionally because Eriol puts the thoughts into my head. I still miss him, even though it's been several years now since I've seen him. Five, if memory serves. I get letters from him, though these are rare and very far between. They usually arrive around Syaoran's birthday. I assume that's the only time he gets free. In his very first letter, he forbade me to reply. The Elders prohibited any connection of his to the outside world, so he gave the letters to Meiling to take to a post box.  

I snap back to attention when I hear my brother mention me. 

"I found her crying again last night." 

Stupid Touya, always sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong.

"I think it was the Miss China Pageant that set her off." 

It had been indeed. The latest winner of said pageant had, in an interview, stated that in a week or so, when she was settled into her role, she would be lunching with the Royal Li family. She had a secret agenda, she revealed. She was going to try to seduce the Prince. She had sounded prim and proper, but it was thinly veiled desperation.

I hoped that she would comment on the luncheon, but I doubted it. Something instinctual told me that Syaoran wouldn't cheat on me with someone that vain, so her oh-so-secret agenda would fail, therefore plunging her into a deep well of depression. She would eventually kill herself and the manager of the competition would invite me to be the next Miss China, therefore enabling me to visit the Chinese royals as often as I liked. It would also be agreed upon by the general public that Syaoran and I would make a wonderful Emperor and Empress. 

That was as far as I had gotten before I fell asleep. I still had yet to figure out exactly how _I_ would get revenge upon the could-be-boyfriend stealing tramp when I was rudely awakened by something cutting off my precious air supply. I spluttered for a minute before I opened my eyes.

When I did, I had to give myself a quick pinch. 

There was a very intelligent looking brown barn owl sitting on my bare stomach.

It had very sharp claws.

========================

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Dear Readers,

            I'm terribly sorry for the uncustomary (ha!) delay. I've had schoolwork once more, then family gatherings for the holidays. I hope you forgive me, and I hope you enjoyed the slight improvement on my old first chapter. I thought I explained a tad more of what I was supposed to. 

            Merry Christmas to all! And a Happy New year! This is an early present for you all. I thought I'd be nice to you. I do, however, have Christmas and New Year's presents stashed away for you all, so look out for them. 

Please? Could you act enthused when you get them?

            Happy holidays!

Sincerely,

Argentum Sol. 


	2. Just the required explanations

**Gimme a Hand, Hogwarts!**

**Chapter two: Just the required explanations.**

Two tawny, beady eyes glared at me. 

Though it is not a widely experienced practice, when one is woken at two in the seven in the morning by a large barn owl digging some very sharp claws into one's stomach, it tends to initiate one of two reactions. The first is shock, after all, one should not be accustomed to being awoken in such a manner. The second is panic, after all, owls are very intimidating creatures. 

Sakura Kinomoto, latest victim, stared at the large owl with both eyes wide open and jaw slack. 

This owl was not one to be messed with. This owl meant _business_. 

This owl was very, _very_ scary.

The owl extended a foot and held it out haughtily. It glared at me as I gaped at it. We studied each other for a moment: its gaze calculating, mine terrified. I acted upon instinct and did the thing that seemed the most reasonable for this particular situation: I moved onto reaction two.

"Hoeeeeeeeeeeee!"

This brought about the desired result: Help. I had managed to wake the three remaining occupants of the household. If I was going to suffer at the hands of an early wake up call, so were they.

Kero, Guardian Beast of the Clow cards, poked his head out of the drawer he called home, took one look at the barn owl on my belly and went back to bed. I heard him swear before he shut the drawer. I would be having more then a few words with him after this, and none of them would have anything be, "Here's some pudding for a reward." 

Luckily, as my 'Guardian' beast was too far away from conscious thought to be of assistance, my father and Touya rushed into my room. Father was looking worried, Touya just grumbled about a, "Baka Kaijuu alarm clock". This earned him a short, sharp glare before my eyes darted back to the owl on my stomach. Although beating up Touya was looking very appealing, the Owl was less likely to see the humour in the situation.

When my family spotted the owl on my abdomen, they proved what I had suspected all along: They were useless. Their jaws dropped and their limbs went limp. All four of their eyes bugged out and Touya let out a small squeek. Some family.

It must have decided that it was being ignored again, for the owl moved up my chest. Touya made a small sound of protest, perhaps deciding that this owl was almost as big a pervert as 'That stinking Gaki' (Syaoran still held the Touya's opinion of being the biggest, most perverted and threatening Chinese Gaki alive). Of course, it didn't matter that Touya thought that the owl meant to molest me, (He thought most things did) for the owl continued on its way. Its claws eventually clung unto my collarbone, piercing skin. I bit back a wince as the owl glared at me. 

Then it extended a foot and stuck its talons on my nose.

My father was pulled out of his stupor and rushed to my aid, while Touya, after a swift prod, began searching for something to hit the owl with, preferably long so as not to endanger Touya. 

I, meanwhile, was looking at the owl's foot through crossed-eyes. It had something white, fuzzy and vaguely rectangular attached to its foot with something brown, fuzzier and thin. It looked a little like the white thing was attached with a bit of the owl's flesh, but as I reached out a hand, (hitting the owl's beak on the first go) I realized that it was a piece of brown string. As I untied the string, the white piece of paper (I discovered this after I focused) fell away from the talon and onto the bed. At that moment, the owl loosened its grip on my collarbone and my dad gently lifted it off me. 

Touya returned after his search for an owl-maiming tool, curtain rod in tow, when I was unfolding the envelope. My father sent him off to find the first aid kit while he himself ushered the owl out of the window. Once finished, he turned to be greeted by my stunned expression. 

"Miss Sakura Kinomoto, Cardmistress

The second room on the second floor,

76 Cocoa drive, Tomoeda, Japan." 

Great. A stalker. Just what I needed. I already had three, what did it matter that I now had another. Maybe Touya was right and the homing owl _was_ trying to get into my pants. 

Maybe Tomoyo was right and I was growing into the sarcasm. 

Maybe Eriol was right and I had inherited more of Clow's genes then we had thought.

Or maybe Syaoran was right and I should stop hanging around the afore mentioned people.

I turned the envelope over and broke the seal. My father wiped away the blood on my shoulder as I scanned the letter's contents. My profound astonishment almost covered up the pain shooting from my neck. 

Something wasn't right about this, I realized as I finished reading. Sure, I can accept a secret Wizarding cult buried in England that has the problem of a classic hero-villain story going on. I can accept that they expect me to help ready their race for some major bad guy ass-kicking. I can even accept the fact that they really didn't give me a choice in the matter of attendance. What I couldn't believe was that Kero hadn't known about this. 

One quick plea to Watery, several drenched miniature furniture pieces and one soaked, disgruntled Guardian Beast later found me glaring at Kero and wondering when people (or rather, guardian beasts) would consider me capable of coping with stress.

"Kero, why didn't you _tell_ me? I gave you plenty of incentive! We've talked about those stalker auras plenty recently! Why I am not worthy of the responsibility! I am so si… Stop looking at me like that"

I stopped as I saw Kero's eyes enlarge and moisten. Admittedly I didn't explode like I just had often, and I had been told that I was _scary_ when I did, but Kero has faced worse. I think it scared him (or should have scared him) much more when I went into a decline four years ago. I think his feelings at that time ranged from terror, to anger, to pity, most of the time within two minutes of each other. In any case, Kero had seen me much worse, so I felt even more enraged when he tried to act helpless. Oh yes, I was going to get the answer out of him, and if that meant by a means of violence, I was quickly going to oblige. 

"Sa-Sakura," Kero began. "I-I just didn't think it was necessary."

"_Necessary! _KERO..!" 

"No, listen Sakura. I didn't tell you because… because I was hoping that they wouldn't ask you." At the outraged noise erupting from my throat, he added, "Wishful thinking and wrong, I know. I'm sorry Sakura." 

I looked into his small black eyes again, and I knew I was done for. Call it compassion, call it pity, call it nature, call it whatever you like, I was mad and I knew it. I couldn't help but forgive him, I never could. He hadn't abandoned me, even though he didn't agree with some of my decisions. He'd stuck by me through thick and thin, and I was grateful. This was a small matter, I told myself calmly. It means nothing. It has no importance over the end result. 

However wide Kero may have been stretching his eyes, and however many whimpers and apologies I received, I wasn't about to waste this golden opportunity. I wasn't about to throw away a guilt token just as I was getting to the ticket booth. I was going to ride this train for all it was worth, and then continue on and hit a pedestrian. I was going to squeeze every last piece of knowledge from Kero's stuffed head, until I was sure I had gotten every answer he knew. 

And then I was going to order a pizza to celebrate.

"Fine, but as an apology, tell me everything you know about what is happening."

"Saku-"

"_Everything._" 

Kero gave a big sigh. He floated over to my bed and plopped himself in front of me. He sat and looked pensive for a while and I began to think that he was going to zoom off out the window. He certainly looked like he was considering it. Therefore, as a precaution, I shut the window with a pull of magic. Kero obviously put two and two together and realized that I didn't trust him not to fly away.

"The breeze was giving me a chill," I commented as an explanation. 

Kero bought into the lie, as it was quite chilly. He sighed heavily, scratched an ear and began. 

"Once upon a time," Kero said, trying to lighten the mood, "there were two races of magical people: Wizards and Sorcerers." 

I nodded and listened to Kero as he explained about the Wizard's jealousy over the Sorcerer's greater power. I observed his face as he explained. It revealed nothing. It was hollow, as if he had never been a part of the epic war he described. I would have to ask him about that. He explained that as the Wizard's grew in population, the Sorcerer's numbers dwindled due the witch massacres of the medieval age. The humans had not been able to kill any real witches, wizards or Sorcerers, (though they did manage to settle a great many disputes at the stake) but many of the actual magicians caught and accused of witchcraft were Sorcerers. This, in return made it impossible for the Sorcerer who had been publicly burnt to return home, unless they dearly wished to have the king's armies upon their family. 

Their solution was to flee. Many chose to flee to Asia, where it was believed that they would be able to settle in without so much as an upward glance. The Wizards, whom had made several trips to Asia, guaranteed that they would be safe. A few, however, decided to escape by the water, crossing many different seas. Only one had ever returned to England. She claimed that she and her family had been attacked by a magical Sea ceature. She did not recognise the magic, and so had returned to her homeland to seek help. The Sorcerers who remained in England anxiously awaited word from their comrades in Asia and across the seas. It was many years later when they finally had word from one of the families who had moved to Asia. They were unsuccessful in fitting in except for a select few. The rest that had not been slaughtered by the terrified population had gone underground. 

That was when they chose to attack. The Wizards, whom the Sorceror's had long considered their closest, indeed their only, ally, turned on them. Their jealousy of The sorcerer's abilities had managed to soar to such lengths that they supported a genocide. Once there were few enough of the Sorcerers, the Wizard's slaughtered their race; all save for the few who were able to hide. 

"We may have been more powerful, but they outnumbered us by far. We felt any loss harder; they barely cared if their own fell. We were left with three or so small clans of Sorcerers; They were left with a civilisation." 

 After he had ended the history lesson by telling me that the few Sorcerer clans, Eriol and myself were the only of out kind left, he went on to bring me a little more up to date. 

"More recently, I suppose for the past five generations or so, the Wizard's have become haughty, and many refused to intermarry with the non-magical peoples or muggles. This will lead to their downfall also, as history tends to repeat itself. That's probably why this Dumblydore fellow is so keen to make the peace between us and them."

"Kero?"

"Yes Sakura?" 

I paused and after some brief thought changed the question I had been about to ask. 

"Which of the stalker auras belongs to Dumbledore?"

Kero looked relieved. He must have thought that I had been about to ask him about 'That stinking Gaki'. "The Silver one." He held up a paw to pause my next question. "They're too weak to sustain a coloured one. This Dumblydore is a very powerful wizard, (His aura is nice and sparkly) but he is one of the very few." 

And then I asked the question he was dreading.

"And just where does Syaoran fit into all this?" 

Kero rolled his eyes at me and clenched his paws. "Always on about The Brat. He's the future leader of the most powerful clan in existence, that's how he's involved."

"I know _that_," I answered, disgruntled. "What I wanted to know is how he's more involved. C'mon," I continued as he opened his mouth to protest, "I know he's more involved then you're letting on."

Kero threw a glance to the framed picture of Syaoran on my bedside table. "Fine." 

I awaited eagerly. I might get to see Syaoran again! 

"He goes to Hogwarts."

"Really? Cool! So I might be teaching him!" 

Kero floated to my head and patted it while muttering a soft, "Yeah, you might teach the brat something." I doubt that he meant for me to hear it, but I did anyway. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing I was expecting. I was anticipating "Teaching him to die, if we're lucky," or "He'll be expelled before you'll have the chance," but I was certainly not expecting that. 

Kero must have seen my pensive face and was eager to get my mind away from Syaoran. 

"You'll have to be careful around that place though. I'm sure that if the student body, or even the teachers, found out that you're an ancient legend, it would cause a panic and more then a little malice. There are sure to be a few wizards who know of the tale. You must be wary of those in particular. You and Eriol are two of the elite of the Magical world. You're so powerful, that even weaklings like Wizards may be able to detect it."

Knowing that Kero wanted to get off the subject, I encouraged it, "And what about Syaoran? Is he part of the elite?"

"Maybe, but he's no where near your capabilities." 

"But he's more powerful then you?" I asked snidely. An all-out match between Kero and Syaoran would be interesting, to say the least. I had always felt that both held back on their attacks on one another, either because of me or because of a mutual respect for the other. 

"_No_, he is _not."_

"Alright, alright, no need to get snappy. So then, who is Harry Potter?" 

"The Tragic hero. There's a prophesied upcoming battle, in which either he or his foe will die. That's why you're going to protect him." 

I paused momentarily. 

"Hey, when did you find out about all of this, anyway? You haven't been downloading things from the internet again, have you?"

Kero looked at me, peeved. "No, I rang Eriol. He told me about Harry Potter. The History I already knew, and some of the other stuff I pieced together." 

"And how did you find out about Sy-?" 

I was cut off by the phone downstairs ringing. I sighed as I climbed off my bed, knowing that everyone else would be too busy enjoying the Saturday morning to get out of bed again. As I scampered down the stairs, Touya's tired voice followed me, "Kaijuu, get the phone." 

The last few steps to the phone were taken on a loudly as possible, and with much damage done to my feet. I picked up the phone and propped it on my shoulder. I picked up a pad of paper and a pen and began writing to Kero, who had flown down. 

"Hello?" I sounded distracted even to myself. I began writing. _Kero, are there any wizards in Tomoeda?_

"Hi Sakura!" I knew that voice. _Yes, one._

"Tomoyo-chan," I groaned. "Why have you called me at quarter to eight on a Saturday?" 

_Who?_

Tomoyo giggled on the other end. "I called for a reason, you know." I doubted that the reason really needed to interrupt my flow of revelations. 

Why was Kero ignoring my last message? _Who, Kero?_

"Sakura-chan, I got a weird letter today."

Oh no. Oh no no no no. Why did Tomoyo have to get pulled into this? She was pulled into the Card capturing adventure, and though she hadn't gotten any permanent, noticeable scars from it, it had being unbelievably dangerous. Perhaps she'd be okay, I supposed rationally, after all, she'd be with me and (hopefully) Syaoran. Turning my head to face Kero, I glared at him as I asked Tomoyo, "Weird? How?"

"Well, letters aren't normally delivered by owls."

_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _____

'Twas an improvement, but I still don't like this chapter. It's mainly explanations and is horribly boring. Please never read it again. It gave me much pain.

If you're wondering about Sakura's address, I got sick of hearing people say that she lived in "Cherry blossom" street. REALLY sick of it. Well, thank you for being patient-ish with me! ^_^


	3. Sisters and mothers and cupboards… oh my...

Listen up. I'm seriously considering giving this up. I hate it, I really do. This is a really bad story, and revamping it really isn't helping it. I'm probably going to upload the other chapters with the main changes and start a new project. I've been doing this story for over a year now, and I'm sick of it.

**Gimme a Hand, Hogwarts!**

**Chapter 3: Sisters and mothers and cupboards… oh my!**

_Ah, sweet cupboard. You are my only saviour. Shall I compare thee to the fire on a winter's eve, or thy darkness to my light of hope. _

_It's sad, but this is what my older siblings did to me. _

Speak of the devil, here comes one now. Tip tap tip tap. Were all four of them born with high heels on? That must have been uncomfortable for mother. Perhaps I should go bake her something in pity once I get out of here. 

Perhaps I was right last time when I said I should find a better hiding spot. They can't be silly enough to look this cupboard over, even though they are silly enough not to retrieve the enchanted map from the library. 

Ooo! Lolly! Lime! I love thee sweet cupboard! Thy tender clothes caress me as thee offers me thy fruit. 

Syaoran paused in his writing. Is this madness, he wondered. After giving a small shrug, he returned to his journaling. 

Alas, fair cupboard, of late I have been spending much time on disloyal thoughts. Our meetings now are more panicked, and I fear that I may be discovered, and then I shall see thee no more. 

Footsteps are drawing closer. Have they found me out? Am I to be returned to the hell that is the outside world? 

"Xiaolang, this really isn't proper behaviour for the future leader of the Li Clan." 

I have frozen in fear. Oh, cruel cupboard who shall no longer give me bliss, why, O why have you forsaken me? I was good to you; I gave you gifts, why then, have you

"And stop writing in that tattered old book." 

Farwell, sweet cupboard. 

"Get out of there Xiaolang and give me the book." 

Syaoran, dignified future leader of the Li Clan, sorcerer extraordinaire, climbed out of the cupboard under the stairs and sulked. 

He continued to do so until the alarms in his head started buzzing. He gave a hasty bow to his mother, grabbed his journal and bolted. Not a second to soon either, for the second he disappeared around the corner, the foulest, most terrifying creatures reached their mother. These atrocities, freaks of nature that could make grown men wet their pants each gave a squeal each more terrible then the last. 

"XIAOLANG!"

"WHERE ARE YOU, XIAOLANG?" 

"WE BOUGHT YOU HAIR CARE PRODUCTS!"

"HERBAL ESSENCE! OOOHHHH!"

The mother of the Li Clan extended an arm and pinched two fingers together, effectively grabbing a female ear. The female she had grabbed squealed before coming to a sudden stop.

"How many times must you be told, ladies? You shouldn't terrorise him."

The three girls not caught in their mother's grasp slumped. "But we want to meet Kawaii Sakura-chan again!"

Yelan Li raised a delicate eyebrow. "What brought this on, of a sudden?"

"Little brother was talking in his sleep." 

"Mumbling, really." 

Yelan pursed her lips in thought. 

"Come daughters," she decided. "Leave your brother to himself. We have things to do."

Everyone was going mad. That was the only possible conclusion, according to the future Li Clan leader. 

He looked around and ducked into a slender hallway. His mother passed me and went into the chamber before me. 

He'd taken to creeping around corners in the middle of the night about three weeks ago. It was quite an exhilarating hobby, he had found. The thrill of being caught, the run, the … The…

He would have much rather walk through the hallways of the Clan Household confidently like he had four weeks ago, but in order to maintain any sanity, he had reverted to slipping into empty rooms for hours on end. 

Why, anyone would ask if they cared to, would a young, healthy teenage boy want to be alone and not abusing his position in power? 

Because people were looking at him funny. 

He could imagine the weird looks he'd get if he confessed this to anyone. Great, they'd say, there's another loony Clan Leader on the way. I thought we'd be safe after Eric the Excentric. 

(Eric the Excentric was Syaoran's Great Uncle. He'd taken the throne by default after an arrow had shot and killed Syaoran's Great-Grandfather. The Li family likes to pretend that Great-Grandfather had nothing to do with the assignation attempt and was instead just an unlucky victim. Eric had taken the throne and immediately set to righting problems that needed righting, helping the needy and finding a wife or four. He started this by giving Chickens the right to sue their keepers. After four months, the Chickens revolted after so many "revolting" jokes. Eric the Excentric was beaked to death.)

In any case, the looks he was receiving currently (having not told anyone that I was receiving them) were not "He's going mad" looks. Nor were they "Let's kill him tonight". They were what he had dubbed "Tomoyo" looks. That annoying look that screams I-know-something-you-don't-know-and-I'm-busting-my-gut-trying-not-to-laugh-at-you. 

Syaoran was getting really sick of it. 

The last time he'd gotten the looks from so many clan members was when the Elders were making arrangements to send him to Japan to look after the Clow Cards. Since he was on a much longer leash seven years ago, he had had the time to spend an hour or so trying to get the answer out of Kitchen hands. 

Not surprisingly, it hadn't worked. The cook, he'd been told, has a sixth sense for taddle-tales. 

He was getting worried though. Not just about the looks either, though that did imply that something big was on the horizon, but also because of the Elders. Traditionally, the Clan Leader in Training would train until his Eighteenth Birthday with Elders while his mother/aunt/sister(s)/cousin were off looking for an eligible, pretty, magical girl for him to spend his doomed life with. However, Syaoran's seventeenth birthday was not too far away, he was being let away from the Clan from September until the end of the School year to go to England and his sisters, who couldn't keep their mouths shut about gossip like what should be going on, were strangely silent. 

It was too confusing. 

His gut twinged when he thought of the arranged marriage. He was no longer marrying Meiling, so his Mother and sisters should be in an uproar trying to find a replacement. He couldn't get any information out of them either. His sisters knew nothing about the matter and he couldn't ask mother. She'd take it as a sign that he wanted to get married, and that was a risk that he was not willing to take. 

Not that he's much of a risk taker anyway. 

An Elder slammed the door in front of me and Syaoran almost jumped. He scanned the elder's body for keys, or any enlightening documents, but the Elder was one of the ones that did nothing and only helped to make up a majority. 

Much like the Hufflepuff house, really, he thought cynically. 

As the Elder closed the door, I felt the faintest trace of magic emerge from the room. So, he thought, they're doing magic. What a surprise. 

Syaoran honestly couldn't remember when he'd gotten so sarcastic. 

He was, however, certain that whatever was going on in that room, it involved him and his future. Most things in this household did. 

Soon he'd be able to return to Hogwarts, where nothing revolved around him. He was able to fade into the background, only emerging every so often to sneer at something or give someone a detention for trying to break into his room. He could relax and keep an eye on Harry like he had for the past couple of years. Cast little barriers around him to stop Voldemort from getting him killed. Of course, a few little scars weren't life-threatening and it had been entertaining to say the least to watch that oaf Lockhart remove all Harry's bones. 

It was Harry's fault for being too polite to him, anyway.

A servant walked through the corridor and he contemplated jumping out and demanding why they were here. This corridor was forbidden to Servants at the best of times. The problem was, that at that moment in time, it was also forbidden to Syaoran. 

"Xiaolang-sama is getting very suspicious." 

Riiight, thought Syaoran. He's talking to a wall. 

It was a fairly attractive wall, covered in a tapestry of a group of men with a woman in the middle. It gave me a fright when the woman's mouth started talking and Mother's voice floated out. 

"Naturally. Tell him that we are keeping an eye on the Wizards' foe. That should satisfy his curiosity. Tell him, we are concerned that the project he is committing so much of his time to is unworthy of him and that we are not to be disturbed. He is also to read "The Lord of the Rings" and devise a plausible excuse to tell Humans if a large eyeball were to come out of the sky." 

Right, he thought, I'm going to believe _that_.

Since he doubted very much that his mother would tell a simple servant why they were in that room, he would assume that she was making it up. Then why were they really in there?

He also doubted that they had the slightest interest in what he'd been doing for the past four years. If he could only barely make out Voldemort's aura at the best of times, then he doubted they even knew the wizard existed. 

I was just getting to the thought about whether Sakura or the mad man magician (aka. Eriol) could sense Voldemort when the servant asked a question that made him stumble. 

"Is he granted the help you requested?" 

'Pah', Syaoran thought cynically, 'it's probably an inspector from the clan. I wonder what they'll be helping me with. Oh no, maybe it's a prospective bride, and they'll stick us together in hopes that we become a little more then just friends. Oh mother, you wouldn't. I've always been a good son. I helped you clean up; I helped you ward off the four demons. I went to Japan when you asked me to. I was a good son. You know I don't want to marry anyone other then Sakura, please don't try. Not to your only son.'

"Indeed, it was," 

'No, I don't want to be married off to someone the Clan chose. It can't be that. The Elders KNOW that I'd run away. I'll go join a monastery, I'll renounce my title. I'll become a Eunuch! … No, I don't think I'll go that far. Never that far. Please, mother you can't have…'

"And how is she going?"

'You did! Mother! I don't need help in my love life! I need plane tickets!'

"She is even stronger then we thought. She detected our magic the second we started watching her." 

'Oh mother, you can't of… Hang on. She's not in the Clan? Let's see, who else would they like that's not in the clan?'

"And you are now certain she returns our Master's regard?"

'Meiling's in the Clan, and she's the only female that I can think of with a drop of Li blood that I don't detest. So, that leaves all the females I met either in Japan or in England.'

The tapestry's smile widened. "We are positive of the fact. As to how she will react to seeing him again, we can only guess." 

'Okay,' thought Syaoran, who was beginning to calm down, 'so I'm not marrying a stranger. I'd met her before, she must have magical blood, and the Elders know of her. It's either Sakura or a guy.'

With that lovely thought (And the traces of a mental image of Eriol in a wedding dress) Syaoran drifted back to his room. Alas, if he had only remained where he was for a minute more. The servant and Yelan Li finished their conversation, and, as the servant was turning a corner, Yelan spoke into the darkness.

"Li Sakura has a nice ring to it."

Right, that may be the last revamped chapter I can do. I suppose it depends on whether anyone still reads this piece of trash. If they do, then I'll work on this whenever I get really bored of everything else in the universe. If not, then this is going in the dung heap. Have a nice day.

Oh, by the way, it was double the length of the old chapter.


	4. Supportive Family

**Gimme A Hand, Hogwarts!**

**Chapter Four: Supportive Family. **

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE IT IS?!"

Touya was inconsolable. I'd started out this little quest optimistic. Yeah, my brother was a little protective, but he'd cave and let me go, right? I'd bring out the waterworks if I had to. I could do that.

I wasn't expecting it to be easy, but I had been hoping that Touya would actually listen, instead of just screaming in a testosterone fuelled rage.

Touya's hand was brought down forcibly onto the wall and, half way down the hall, a framed picture fell to its death. A bead of sweat that had run down the length of his nose dripped onto the floor as Touya continued his irrational tirade.

My father, who had been leaning against the wall, was now by my side, and looking quite exhausted. He had decided, probably due to experience, to let Touya rant himself into unconsciousness. Although, in fore sight, it didn't look like that would happen anytime that day; his rage had lent Touya inhuman energy.

Touya himself seemed perfectly content to continue his tirade. He routinely switched from various emotions. The most prominent was, of course, blood-curdling rage. Underneath there was a range of emotions of varying degrees: Sorrow, protectiveness and illogical suspicion. It was the last emotion that chose to join the party now.

"IT'S ALL THE GAKI'S FAULT!"

When I'd first brought up the subject of my going to school in England, he'd been protective. ("She's only 15! She's still just a baby!")

This had quickly turned into anger. ("How can you let her go?! She can't go!")

Then hopefulness. ("I could go with her to make sure she's safe...")

Then Anger again. ("She'll get attacked! There are all types of weirdos in England!")

And, of course, in Touya's mind, 'Weirdo' meant only one person.

"THAT STUPID PERVERTED GAKI!"

Yes, Touya had finally cracked.

He wouldn't listen to me when I tried to insist that the letter hadn't come from the Li household, instead insisting that the "Gaki's family" had brainwashed me and blocked my powers. Indeed, Touya was always quite sure of the fact that it wasn't really ME when I tried to convince him of my love with Syaoran, but the evil subconsciousness Syaoran had implanted into my brain.

"Touya, I called Eriol. He knows that Hogwarts exists. He's BEEN there."

I knew that this wouldn't stop Touya from blaming it on Syaoran, but it was worth another try. He'd ignored it the other six times I'd mentioned it. It was a complete lie. Eriol had never even mentioned Hogwarts, nor anything about Wizards. I was guessing, and had to remember to ring Eriol myself before Touya got onto him with his whole 'threat' list.

"HE'S IN ON IT AS WELL!"

This was when Tomoyo walked in.

Ignoring my brother, who was now screaming that Eriol was going to pay for joining forces with Syaoran, I greeted Tomoyo with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

"'Lo Tomoyo-chan"

Tomoyo cast me a sympathetic look, then glanced at Touya when he screamed, "HE WILL DIIIIIIIIEEEE!!!!"

She turned back to me with a raised eyebrow.

"I take it Touya was displeased when the news of you leaving to England sunk in."

I looked at her wearily, rubbed my temples and muttered, "You have no idea."

"SHE'S NOT GOING."

I snapped.

Touya turned his glare to me when he discovered that he was now tied to a dining chair and gagged. My father cast him a sympathetic glance and sighed, while I held his glare. Tomoyo broke off the staring contest by pulling me upstairs. Touya's eyes widened when he realized that his one escape option was quickly being pulled upstairs.

I gave him a wave as we turned the corner.

Once upstairs, I let out a relieved sigh and rubbed my temples again. Tomoyo flopped onto my bed and started searching through her bag. Kero popped out of his hiding place and sat on Tomoyo's shoulder, nibbling a piece of cake. With a triumphant sound Tomoyo revealed her letter from the depths of her bag.

It looked like my letter, honestly, but when Kero saw it, he jumped, spat out the crumbs he had in his mouth, and made a grab for her letter. She was quicker and pulled it out of his reach as I picked the fallen Guardian beast up by the tail and gazed at him quizzically.

"Errr... Yes?" Kero asked. He was trying to discreetly get out of my grip. I pitied him, but that didn't mean that I couldn't take advantage of the fact that he was obviously hiding something.

"Kero-chan," I began, confused.

Why had he wanted the letter so despretaly? It seemed a little much for a scrap of paper. Perhaps I should take a look at the intriguing letter.

"Tomoyo-chan? Can I please have a look at your letter?" I asked politely. Kero's eyes bulged, and he made another mad grab for the letter. I glanced at the letter. Then at Kero. Then back to the letter. Its contents were very different to mine.

In the first place, mine had been requesting me to attend Hogwarts to guard Harry Potter, under the guise of a teacher. Tomoyo's said that she had been _accepted_, and that they apologised for the lateness of her acceptance, but their foreign exchange was only being opened that year to students whose English was less then good. And while my letter was long, explaining much, Tomoyo's was short, brief and to the point. Tomoyo had been accepted in a foreign students scheme. She and a number of other Asian students would be going to Hogwarts to learn a western type of magic. And Hogwarts had brought in a number of Asian teachers to teach the English students Asian magic.

I was going to teach. Tomoyo was going to learn. I was going to teach students older then me. Tomoyo was older then me. I was going to teach Tomoyo.

I really needed to sit down.

Once seated, I remembered that I would have help. The letter had promised it. The letter hadn't named the person, but had said, "There is no need to be alarmed at the prospect of teaching. You will have another person helping you. He's about your age and we request that you meet him a week before the students return on the first of September."

It was the 'he' that had set Touya off.

Absently, I focused a little on the letter that had come via owl to give my mind something to occupy it. I found a most perculiar thing. "Kero?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"You know when I asked you about Tomoyo's aura?"

"Yes...?"

"And you know how you said that it was just a normal living aura, right?"

"Yeeees?" Kero was sweating now.

"Is this letter alive? If not, why does it have an aura? And why doesn't my neighbour's cat have an aura? Come to think of it, why doesn't my neighbour have an aura?"

Kero looked at me with those puppy dog eyes. "Sakura, necessary precautions had to be taken..."

My back hit the mattress. This was too much.

"So Tomoyo's a witch and I'm the Queens guard." I told the ceiling. At least it couldn't shock me with anything else.

In a small voice, Tomoyo decided to contribute. "Perhaps we should call Eriol-kun?"

Kero looked thankful for the distraction and I murmured distractedly, "Yes, he might know."

"Besides," Tomoyo giggled, "it sounds like Touya's going to ring him and 'give him a piece of his mind' if we don't occupy the phone soon."

Tomoyo-chan was right. I could hear the sound of a chair being scraped against the floorboards and my father's panicked, "Touya-san! I'll get your sister in here if you don't listen!"

I muttered another spell, heard a satisfactory yelp of pain and the following call of, "Thank you Sakura-chan! Can we have a bit of water to put out his hair now?!" Pause. "Thank you!"

I reached for the phone, and it rang. I hated it when it did that.

Before I even heard the voice at the other end, I greeted, "Hello Eriol-kun."

I heard a chuckle. "How did you know it was me, Sakura-chan?"

I rolled my eyes. Why must he insist on doing this? "The same way I always do."

"Ahhh," he was trying to sound mystic. "I thought you needed to talk to me. What is it you require? Oh, and Hello Tomoyo dearest."

I decided against replaying the message to Tomoyo exactly, so I distorted it. A bit.

"Eriol wants to know if you've been snogging anyone else."

Tomoyo whacked me on the head, and grabbed the receiver away from me the second before my sleeve caught fire. I patted it out frantically, heard both of their laughter and smirked. A second later I heard Eriol curse.

Tomoyo slowly turned to face me.

"What did you do?" She asked in a murderous voice.

I grinned. Eriol really should remember that revenge on him, or his house as the case may be, was only too easy.

"I forgot to give Suppi my Easter Present." My grin got wider as I heard the shattering of glass in the phone.

Tomoyo looked liked she was about to launch at me and rip my hair out, when she stopped, listened intently to the person on the other end, and grinned. Then she hung up.

"Hey! I needed to talk to Eriol! _You_ needed to talk to Eriol!"

Her smile got wider as someone tapped my shoulder.

"Hoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

I turned to face the new person. His hair looked slightly crisped, and he looked miffed, but it was undeniable of who it was.

"Eriol-kun!!!!" Tomoyo screamed, and launched at him instead. I grinned.

"You know why we needed to talk to you." It wasn't a question. Eriol had a nasty habit of knowing everything.

"And?" He also had a nasty habit of making it very difficult to get information out of him.

"I'm going too."

* * *

Well, there's a chapter for anyone interested. Might just quickly edit the rest and put them up. I'm not really interested in CCS anymore. Oh well. Oh, and thanks to everyone who was wonderful and nice about me being on Hiatus.

Bye all!

Argentum Sol


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